Herbivores Eating Herbivores: Food Crisis Fixed

This is a very short interesting article from a popular BBC news program, Newsnight. It doesn't offer much in the way of conclusions, but I like that its encouraging the talk.

"'The best solution would be for us all to become vegetarians'.
So suggested the head of the UN climate agency, Yvo de Boer, who is attending UN-led climate talks in Germany this week. He was responding to criticism that measures to tackle climate change are partly to blame for the rise in food and energy costs. Carbon-cutting biofuels, for example, use food crops to make alternatives to gasoline.

Meanwhile, Patrick Wall, chairman of the European Food Safety Authority, has questioned whether it is 'morally or ethically correct' to be feeding grain to animals while people starve. Speaking to the Times, he argued that it's time to end the EU ban on the use of animal remains to feed pigs and chickens. Lifting the ban would allow grain to be diverted to millions of starving people.

And the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation, hosting a much publicised summit in Rome this week, has warned of global catastrophe unless food reaches parts of the world where it is needed most.

So, does the global food crisis demand a radical rethink of how we distribute food? Should we worry less about feeding our animals and prioritise getting grain to people suffering food shortages - even if that affects the availability of meat?"

I posted a little while ago about my thoughts on universal vegetarianism, and now I've had a new thought. If there was some kind of global vegetarian campaign, it shouldn't be in the countries that are suffering the most from the food shortages. They should be able to eat whatever they want because their nutritional concerns are more immediate. If anyone should have to sacrifice meat consumption, it us. And by us I mean, America. I'm talking about meat reduction.

But what if we stop feeding the animals actual food, and start feeding them left over dead animals like that guy in the article suggests? Um, ew. That just causes all kinds of health concerns and ah...EW!

You can't have your pig-fed chicken and eat it too, I'm afraid. (Ba-dum ching!) Its just not that easy. The answer isn't going vegetarian completely. Just going vegetarian more.

Additionally, check out the Compassion in World Farming website and their "Eat Less Meat" Campaign.